Category: Business Resources

Posted on

All About Group and Team Facilitation

Young lady showing a document to her team in a meeting

All About Group and Team Facilitation

Sections in This Topic Include

Understanding Facilitation

Facilitation as a Service

Core Skills for Facilitators

Types of Groups and Applications

Doing Facilitation

Business of Facilitation

General Resources

Also consider

Also see

Understanding Facilitation

What is Facilitation?

Facilitation is the nature of the activities to run a meeting, including planning, design, implementation and evaluation of the meeting. The activities can be done in an explicit and systematic manner or in an implicit, organic and unfolding nature, depending on the nature and needs of participants. Facilitation can be driven by an external role that is dedicated to facilitation (a facilitator) or by the group members themselves.

What is facilitation? (and Core Values of Facilitation)

What Does a Facilitator Do?

Simply put, the role of the facilitator (in the context of personal, professional and organizational development) is to guide and support a group to get clear on the results they want to accomplish
and what methods they might use accomplish those results. The facilitator might also guide and support the group to actually implement those methods, and even evaluate the implementation and results. The results and methods and the nature of how the facilitator works with group members depend on the situation. For example, the facilitator might work in a rather direct role, making prominent suggestions of what the group should do and how to do it. Or, the facilitator might work in a more indirect role by gently noting what the group might do and how to do it. The following resources give more detailed descriptions of facilitation, including suggesting various roles that facilitators might play.

Facilitation as a Service

Test – How Good Are Your Facilitation Skills Now?

Before reading more in this topic, you might get an impression of your own skills here.

Facilitator Self-Assessment Checklist

So, based on the results of the test, what do you want to improve? Consider the guidelines in the rest of this topic.

How Do You Recognize a High-Quality Facilitator?

Facilitation is usually not an activity that follows a standardized, specific procedure. So it’s not an activity that many people can quickly ascertain as being done well or not. However, like many services that work to guide and support others toward improvement, there usually is a set of knowledge and skills that most people agree is necessary to be highly competent. The following links suggest certain expertise, and an upcoming section provides a more detailed list.

Would You Benefit From a Facilitator? What Would It Cost?

Core Skills of a Facilitator

Whatever one’s beliefs about the best nature of facilitation, the practice usually is best carried out by someone who has strong knowledge and skills regarding group dynamics and processes — these are often referred to as process skills. Effective facilitation might also involve strong knowledge and skills about the particular topic or content that the group is addressing in order to reach its goals — these are often referred to as content skills. The argument about how much “process versus content” skills are required by facilitators in certain applications is a very constructive argument that has gone on for years. The following skills are important for facilitators regardless of the type of group or application (groups and applications are listed next in this topic).

Core Interpersonal Skills for Facilitators

Although facilitators work primarily with groups, those groups are comprised of individuals. A good facilitator needs strong expertise in working with individuals as well as groups. The following list includes skills that would be very useful for a facilitator to have.

Core Group Skills for Facilitators

Although facilitators work primarily with groups, those groups are comprised of individuals. A good facilitator needs strong expertise in working with individuals as well as groups. The following list includes skills that would be very useful for a facilitator to have.

Types of Groups and Applications

Common Types of Groups

There are many types of groups. The following list is to some of the most common. Facilitators should be familiar with purposes and processes used in at least the first grouping of links. The second grouping is becoming common as facilitators work in organizations to guide and support change.

Popular Group Applications and Activities

The following list includes many of the most common applications, or purposes of groups, and suggests many of the types of activities in them. Good facilitators will be familiar with the purposes and processes in most of the following.





Doing Facilitation

Preparing to Facilitate

It’s difficult to facilitate — to help group members decide the purpose of their group and how to work toward that purpose — unless you clearly are ready to facilitate. The following article will help you.

Ice Breakers and Warmup Activities

Ice breakers and warmup activities help group members to more quickly become comfortable around each other. They’re useful in almost any type of group, especially where members do not already know each other well.

Basic Tips for Successful Facilitation

The basic tips in this section are for people who do not seek an in-depth understanding of facilitation, rather they have a few applications in which they would like to facilitate groups.

Facilitating Face-to-Face

Facilitating Online Groups

The ability to facilitate virtual groups — groups where members use telecommunications to communicate with each other — is increasingly an important skills for facilitators.

Roberts Rules?

Roberts Rules is comprehensive a set of specific rules by which members of meetings can conduct their meeting process in a very orderly fashion, thereby helping to ensure that members get the most out of meetings. These rules are usually used in very formal meetings, for example, meetings of Boards of Directors. A facilitator is not likely to need expertise in the rules unless his/her clients specifically have adopted them as the procedures to run their meetings. Facilitators can become highly skilled in the set of rules and achieve the status of registered Parliamentarians.

Staying Centered During Facilitation

It can be quite a challenge for a facilitator to work with a diverse group of people, sometimes under high-pressure situations, to get clear on what they want to do and how to do it. A good facilitator is not easily unsettled — the facilitator does not take challenges and conflicts personally. The following links are to resources that can help the facilitator to stay centered — grounded in the type of person that he or she wants to be when facilitating. Be sure to also review some of the resources in the earlier topics Core Interpersonal Skills for Facilitators and Core Group Skills for Facilitators.

Business of Facilitation

Professionalism and Ethics

Although some of the following links refer to consulting, the guidelines in the resources also apply to practitioners who do facilitating.

Credentials

Starting a Facilitation Business

This subtopic assumes that you already have some expertise in facilitation as described in this overall Library topic, and that you also are thinking about starting a business to be a professional facilitator. The guidelines in this subtopic are focused on helping you to start a new organization, expand a current organization, or start a new service.

Are You Really an Entrepreneur?

Starting a New Organization?

Planning Your New Organization

Deciding the Legal Structure of Your New Organization

U.S. Enterprise Law — Forming Organizations

Or Expanding a Current Organization?

Business Development

Or Starting a New Product or Service?

Product Development

Marketing Your Organization, Product or Service

Getting and Keeping Clients

Getting Paid

Dealing With Clients

When to Bail from a Project

When to Bail from a Consulting Project

Minimizing Risk

General Resources

Various Organizations About Facilitation and With Many Resources

Many of the following organizations also have websites that list many free resources about facilitation.

National

Local

Free Facilitation Tools

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Facilitation

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Facilitation. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

How to Increase Participation in Meetings

Women standing close to the board while in a team meeting

How to Increase Participation in Meetings

Copyright Carter McNamara, Authenticity Consulting, LLC

Sections in this Topic Include

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development.

This document is focused especially on how to accomplish full participation in meetings. It is not necessarily a checklist on how to design and conduct meetings, including the physical aspects of meetings.

Meeting Preparation and Opening

Much of what supports the active participation of group members lies in how the meeting is designed and managed.

  1. Design an agenda that specifies the purpose of the meeting, benefits to members, location, topics and timing. Distribute it to potential attendees for their review.
  2. Considering meeting offsite. This minimizes interruptions and members’ preoccupation with their day-to-day activities.
  3. At the beginning of each meeting, get them involved early. For example, include introductions or do a brief “check in” from each member.
  4. Have people share information about themselves. This is usually easier to talk about and initially they may be more motivated to talk about themselves than planning.
  5. Have each member state what he or she wants from the meeting. Ask each member of the group to help others achieve their goals for the meeting. Post a sheet of each person’s wants. Review this list at the end of the meeting.
  6. If a member is absent from a meeting, acknowledge who is missing and find out why.
  7. Review ground rules, including the ground rule that “everyone participates.”

During the Meeting

Consider some or all of the following in any order:

  • Use break-out groups, or small groups, to increase attention and participation among members. Be sure to provide specific directions about what the groups are to accomplish and by when. Have a spokesperson for the small group.
  • If the facilitator feels the group is in a lull, he or she should say so, and then ask the group if they agree and what they can do to get out of the lull.
  • Allow time for individual thinking and taking notes.
  • Build in physical movement periodically throughout the meeting.
  • Bring in some jokes or cartoons and share them at different times. Be careful not to offend members who might misinterpret the humor as being insensitive.
  • Post the mission, vision and/or values statements of the organization(s) or group(s) on the walls where the meeting is held to remind people of why they are there.
  • Do a Round-Robin about the current topic, asking each person what he or she thinks about the current activity or topic.
  • Specifically address the quiet people, for example, mention, “We haven’t heard from you yet.” However, do not push people who seem reluctant to speak.
  • For some groups, it might help to have each person bring an object and share it with the group as an initial icebreaker. This can increase personal involvement, trust and confidentiality.
  • Ask lots of questions for the group to answer.
  • Use a variety of aids to ensure all learning styles are considered, such as spoken, visual and kinesthetic. This is important to keep members with varying styles equally engaged.
  • Share facilitation roles. Let someone else facilitate as you take the time to record, organize and prepare information.

During the Meeting Closure

Recognize and document results at the end of each meeting. This shows progress, promotes satisfaction and cultivates fulfillment among members.

Within a week after the end of the meeting, have the meeting recorder (documenter) issue meeting minutes, including major actions and assignments from the meeting.

Also consider
The following are group-based methods.

Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Facilitating

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to dialoguing. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

Group and Team Learning (Collaborative Learning, Social Learning, Team Learning)

Colleagues discussing project together while working on laptop together at table in office

Group and Team Learning (Collaborative Learning, Social Learning, Team Learning)

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC.

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It’s not clear at this time if online groups have similar nature and stages.)

Sections of This Topic Include

Also see

What is Group Learning?

In recent decades, researchers, educators, authors and leaders have accepted that people in groups can learn a great deal from each other. The learning does not always have to be from an expert who somehow conveys expert knowledge onto others.

The benefits of group learning have spawned a wide variety of approaches, formats and styles that have, in turn, spawned related phrases like “collaborative learning”, “cooperative learning”, “peer learning” and “social learning”. As typically happens when a movement emerges, there are many different values, perspectives and opinions, even about which phrases to use, where and when.

The groups might be closely organized formal teams in which members share a common purpose, goals, structure, leadership, and methods of making decisions and solving problems. Or, groups might be spontaneous and informal gatherings, such as a gathering at a meeting to discuss a common topic.

The groups might be as few as two people or as large as 20 members or more — although experts in group theory and dynamics often suggest that a group is smaller than 20; otherwise, it has an additional layer of overhead activities that are different than a small group. Therefore, experienced facilitators often arrange large groups to be organized into smaller ones, at least until the group learning activities are underway.

The methods of learning can range from informal to formal. Informal learning might be casual advice shared among members or noticing sudden “aha”s that a member gets during the group’s activities. Formal learning is typically designed and structured to achieve certain outcomes among all members. For example, all of them might attend a course on time management, share their insights from the course, and then carefully document their learnings in a journal.

But What is Learning? What Are Its Various Forms?

Despite attending many years of schooling, many of us still do not fully understand what learning really is. Educators refer to learning as new knowledge, skills and abilities. Knowledge is information that is useful to learner somehow, for example, to achieve a goal or solve a problem. A skill is the expertise to actually apply that knowledge to get something done. Abilities are the ongoing competencies to apply that knowledge in a highly effective and efficient manner. As we mentioned above, learning can be informally or formally gathered. See:

Perspectives on Forms of Group Learning

Some Examples of Different Types of Groups

Important Skills to Cultivate Group Learning

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Group Learning

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Group Learning. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

How to Help Groups Make Meaningful Decisions

Lady sitting at the desk showing her colleagues a graph on a tablet device

Group Decision-Making and Problem Solving

Sections of This Topic Include

Guidelines to Successful Group Decision-Making and Problem
Solving
Additional Perspectives on Group Decision-Making and Problem
Solving

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Group Decision-Making and Problem
Solving

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs
that have posts related to Decision-Making and Problem Solving. Scan down the
blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts”
in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a
post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

Library’s Leadership
Blog
Library’s Supervision
Blog
Library’s Team Performance
Blog

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group
Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical
stages of development. (It’s not clear at this time if online groups have similar
nature and stages.)

Guidelines to Successful Group Decision-Making
and Problem Solving

© Copyright Carter McNamara,
MBA, PhD

There are many techniques that can be used with groups to help them make decisions
and solve problems, for example, voting, consensus, reference-to-authority and
nominal group technique. The guidelines in this document refer to the voting
and consensus techniques.

Voting (to Make a Selection from Among Alternatives)

The purpose of the voting technique is to make a selection from various alternatives,
for example:

  • Select the most important or desired item from a list of items (by ranking)
  • Select a range of the most important or desired items from a list of items
    (by rating)

There are a variety of approaches to the voting technique.

Show of Hands

The most common approach to the technique is simply to ask for a show of hands
about each item on a list, one at a time, and the item that gets the most votes
in a show of hands is the item selected from the list.

Ranking

Ranking is assigning one distinct value to each item to select the single,
most important item from a list. For example, a ranked list would have one item
ranked as 1, another as 2, another as 3, etc.

Rating

Rating is associating a value with each item in order to identify ranges of
items from a list. Several items can have the same value associated with them.
For example, a rated list might have several items rated as high, medium or
low or as 1, 2 or 3.

Dot-Voting

A common approach to using the technique is as follows.

  1. Each member gets a certain number of dots (votes) that he or she can use
    to vote for items on a list. The number of dots that they get is usually equal
    to the number of choices that are to be made from a list. For example, if
    three items are to be selected, each member gets three dots.
  2. Each member walks up to the overall list of items and places their dots
    next to the items that the member recommends be selected from the list.
  3. After all members have cast their votes, the items that received the most
    votes get selected from the list.

The dot-voting technique has variations. Different colored dots can represent
more than one vote, or even a negative vote. Sometimes, each participant is
given one vote of each weight and required to apply each vote to a different
item. In other cases, a member is allowed to cast multiple votes for one item.

Consensus Process (to Ensure Collaborative Decision Making)

The purpose of this particular consensus technique is to make a group decision
in a highly participative, egalitarian fashion, and get a result that everyone
can “live with.” You might:

  • Select the most important or desired item from a list of items (by ranking)
  • Select a range of the most important or desired items from a list of items
    (by rating)

Often, there is confusion around the term “consensus.” Consensus
means that every member of the group can live with the group’s final decision.
It does not mean that every member completely agrees with the decision. Consensus
is often the means by which highly participative groups members reach their
decisions, especially if they favor a highly egalitarian approach to decision
making.

There are several approaches to the technique of reaching consensus. One quick
approach to consensus is to just ask for a quick conclusion from the group by
1) suggesting a specific answer to the decision that must be made by the group
and 2) asking if everyone in the group can live with that suggestion. Although
that approach might save a lot of time, it certainly does not support the kind
of strategic discussion and thinking so important in strategic planning. Therefore,
planners might consider the following, more thoughtful approach to reaching
consensus.

Before the Meeting

Members receive information that:

  1. Clarifies the decision to be made. It is often best if the decision is
    written in the form of a “yes/no” question or a choice from among
    alternatives, for example, “Should we approve ___?” or “Should
    we hire ____?”.
  2. Is sufficient for each member to come to some conclusion on their own.

Ground Rules During Consensus Activities

The facilitator explains ground rules to other members of the group, for example:

  1. Members do not interrupt each other.
  2. Members can disagree with each other.
  3. Members do not engage in side discussions.
  4. Silence is considered agreement with the decision to be made.
  5. When a decision is reached by consensus, all members act as a united front
    to support the decision.

Consensus Process

The facilitator guides the procedure.

  1. The facilitator specifies a deadline by which to reach consensus in the
    meeting.
  2. In a roundtable fashion, each member:
    a) Gets equal time to voice their preferences and their reasons regarding
    the question.
    b) Focuses their perspectives on what is doable.
    c) Does not mention other members’ names.
    The most senior leader or manager in the group voices his or her opinion last.
  3. At the end of each person’s time slot, all members take a quiet minute
    to:
    a) Collect their own thoughts in response to the last speaker’s preferences.
    b) Decide what they would be willing to compromise or have in common with
    the last speaker.
  4. At the deadline:
    a) The facilitator poses what seems to be the most common perspective voiced
    by members
    b) Asks all members if they can support that perspective.
  5. If no consensus is reached, members might choose one of following options:

    a) Have a discussion, based on what was learned from the consensus activity
    so far. Then repeat steps 2-4 to see if a consensus has been achieved.
    b) Consider further research until a specified future time. Decide what additional
    information is needed and maybe appoint a committee to do research. The committee
    researches and provides recommendations, preferably in writing to each member
    of the group before the next meeting. At the next meeting, members hear the
    committee’s recommendations and initiate the consensus process again.

    c) Consider using a vote to decide (via rating or ranking). Some people would
    assert that voting is not consensus, but it sure is handy if the consensus
    process has not reached a conclusion by an absolute deadline.

Additional Perspectives on Group Decision-Making
and Problem Solving

Facilitation Library
Problem Solving Techniques for Project Managers
Cindy Tananis and Cara Ciminillo on Round Robins
Fishbowls (for groups to learn by watching modeled behaviors)
Problem Solving Solving Complex Business Problems

Eight Creative Problem-Solving Techniques

Also consider
The following are group-based methods, except for Decision Making and Problem
Solving.
Action Learning
Committees
Communities of Practice
Conflict
Management
Decision Making
Dialoguing
Facilitation
Focus Groups
Group Coaching
Group Conflict Management
Group Dynamics
(about nature of groups, stages of group development, etc)
Group Learning
Large-Scale
Interventions
Meeting Management
Open Space
Technology
Problem
Solving (includes tools for problem solving)
Self-Directed
and Self-Managed Work Teams
Team Building
Training and Development
Virtual Teams

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books


Posted on

How to Manage Group Conflict

People having Conflict while Working

How to Manage Group Conflict

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

Sections of This Topic Include

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Note that many methods intended for addressing conflict in groups also might be considered as methods to address conflict between two people. Therefore, also see Addressing Interpersonal Conflict. Also note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It’s not clear at this time if online groups have similar nature and stages.)

Test – How Good Are You at Facilitating Conflict in a Group Now?

Before you read about how to improve your skills in facilitating group conflict, you might get an impression of how good you are now. Here is a checklist that some facilitators use to be sure they are prepared to facilitate it constructively. You might use the checklist to assess how well you would do now in facilitating conflict.

Facilitator Checklist for Conflict Management

So, based on the results of using that checklist, what do you want to improve? Consider the guidelines in this topic.

How to Manage Group Conflict

If there seems to be prolonged conflict among several members of a group, then consider the following guidelines.

1. First, verify if members indeed are in conflict. Ask the members. Listen for 3 minutes.

They might not be in destructive conflict, at all. Robust groups might have conflict if members feel comfortable with sharing their views. Conflict is destructive if there is ongoing disagreements, name calling and people are getting upset. So, for now, describe what behaviors you are seeing that might indicate destructive conflict. Do not try to “diagnose” the causes of those behaviors, just saw what you are seeing or hearing. Acknowledge that conflict is natural in healthy groups, but explain why you suspect that conflict has become destructive.

2. If members are in destructive conflict, then select approaches to resolve conflict.

Take a 5-minute break. Ask one or two other members (a subgroup) to step aside with you. Ask them to suggest approach(es) to address the conflict, and then read the ideas listed immediately below. Ask them which approach(es) are most likely to move things along.

3. Use the approaches selected by the subgroup, with the entire group.

Explain that the approaches were selected by several of you, not by just one person. Ask that members set aside 10-15 minutes on the agenda to try them out. The more the members are in destructive conflict, the more likely they will be willing to try out the approaches.

Possible Approaches to Conflict Resolution

Depending on the situation and duration of the conflict, there are a variety of approaches that might support resolution of destructive conflict. Here are some possible approaches:

  • Focus on what members agree on, for instance by posting the mission, vision and/or values statements to remind people of why they are there.
  • Ask members, “If this disagreement continues, where will we be? How will it hurt our organization?
  • Have members restate their position. If it will take longer than three minutes, allow opportunities for others to confirm or question for understanding (not disagreement).
  • Shift to prioritizing alternatives, rather than excluding all alternatives but one.
  • Take a 10-minute break in which each member quietly reflects on what he/she can do to move the group forward.
  • Take 5-10 minutes and in pairs of two, each person shares with the other what he/she is confused or irritated about. One person in the pair helps the other to articulate his/her views to the larger group. Then switch roles and repeat the process.
  • Propose an “agree to disagree” disposition.
  • If disagreement or lack of consensus persists around an issue, have a subgroup select options and then report back to the full group.
  • Tell stories of successes and failures in how group members operate, including how members got past their differences and reached agreement.
  • Call for a vote on a stated question or decision.

How to Help Group Members Get Unstuck

Sometimes, even if there is a lot of participation from members and no prolonged conflict, a group might not seem to be making any progress on group activities. Members may simply be stuck, for example, during planning or when needing to make a major decision. Consider a similar general process as when a group seems in prolonged conflict (listed above). You could:

1. First, verify if members indeed are stuck. Ask the members. Listen for 3 minutes.

They might not be stuck, at all. Name or describe what behaviors you are seeing that might indicate they are stuck. Do not try to “diagnose” causes of those behaviors, just name what you are seeing or hearing.

2. If members are stuck, then select approaches to move the group forward.

Take a 5-minute break. Ask two other members to step aside with you. Ask them to suggest the approach(es) to move things along, and then read the ideas listed immediately below. Ask them to choose which approach(es) would be most likely to move things along.

3. Use the approaches, selected by the subgroup, with the entire group.

Explain that the approaches were selected by several of you, not by just one person. Ask that members set aside 10-15 minutes on the agenda to try them out. The more the members are stuck, the more likely they will be willing to try out the approaches.

Possible Approaches to Get Unstuck

Depending on the situation, there are a wide variety of actions that might be helpful in moving the group forward. Possible approaches that members can use to become unstuck include:

  • Ask the group, “If we continue to be stuck, where will we be? How will we be hurting our organization?”
  • Take a five-minute break to let members do whatever they want.
  • Resort to some movement and stretching.
  • Ask for five examples of “out of the box” thinking.
  • Resort to thinking and talking about activities in which resources do not matter.
  • Play a quick game that stimulates creative thinking.
  • Use metaphors, such as stories, myths or archetypal images. For example, ask each person to take five minutes to draw or write a metaphor that describes his/her opinions and position in the meeting.
  • Have each or some of the planners tell a story and include some humor.
  • Use visualization techniques, for example, visualize reading an article about the organization’s success some years into the future. What does the article say about how the success came about?
  • Play reflective or energizing music (depending on the situation).
  • Restructure the group to smaller groups or move members around in the large group.
  • Have a period of asking question after question after question (without answering necessarily). Repetition of questions, “why?” in particular, can help to move planners into deeper levels of reflection and analysis, particularly if they do not have to carefully respond to each question.
  • Establish a “parking lot” for outstanding or unresolved issues, and then move on to something else. Later, go back to the stuck issue.
  • Turn the problem around by reframing the topic and/or issue. Usually, questions help this reframing happen.
  • Ask key questions, for example, “How can we make it happen? How can we avoid it happening?” Focus on what the group agrees on, for instance by posting the mission, vision and/or values statements to remind people of why they are there.

Additional Perspectives on Conflict Management in Groups

Also consider
The following are group-based methods.

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Group Conflict

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Group Conflict. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

Evaluating Group and Team Process and Performance

A team working together

Evaluating Group and Team Process and Performance

Suggested Pre-Reading

It would be very useful, before evaluating a team or group, to first understand the broad context of team performance management and where group and team evaluation fit into that broad context. That can ensure that your evaluation is well-planned and that you will know what to do with the results of your evaluation. Then review the various links on this page. So first see:
Team Performance Management: Guidelines and Resources

Various Online Assessments for Evaluating All Aspects of Teams/Groups

Various Online Assessments for Evaluating Specific Aspects of Teams/Groups

Also consider

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Group Performance

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Group Performance. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

Group Dynamics: Basic Nature of Groups and How They Develop

Colleagues having a Team Building

Group Dynamics: Basic Nature of Groups and How They Develop

Sections of This Topic Include

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Group Dynamics

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which have posts related to Group Dynamics. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Do Your Gathering a Group or a Team?

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

This might seem like a silly question, but it is not. Gatherings of less than 10-12 people are considered by organizational development consultants to be a small group. Information in this section is most useful for forming and facilitating small groups of 10-12 people or less.

Groups that are larger than that range tend to have another level of complexity not apparent in small groups. For example, the nature and needs of larger groups are often similar to those of entire ongoing organizations. They have their own various subcultures, distinct subsystems (or cliques), diversity of leadership styles and levels of communication. While certain structures are often useful in small groups, they are absolutely necessary on an ongoing basis in larger groups. For example, larger groups should have a clearly established purpose that is continually communicated, and formal plans and policies about ongoing leadership, decision making, problem solving and communication.

Life Stages of a Team

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

When developing a team, it helps a great deal to have some basic sense of the stages that a typical team moves through when evolving into a high-performing team. Awareness of each stage helps leaders to understand the reasons for members’ behavior during that stage, and to guide members to behavior required to evolve the team into the next stage.

1. Forming

Members first get together during this stage. Individually, they are considering questions like, “What am I here for?”, “Who else is here?” and “Who am I comfortable with?” It is important for members to get involved with each other, including introducing themselves to each other. Clear and strong leadership is required from the team leader during this stage to ensure the group members feel the clarity and comfort required to evolve to the next stage.

2. Storming

During this stage, members are beginning to voice their individual differences, join with others who share the same beliefs, and jockey for position in the group. Therefore, it is important for members to continue to be highly involved with each other, including to voice any concerns in order to feel represented and understood. The team leader should help members to voice their views, and to achieve consensus (or commonality of views) about their purpose and priorities.

3. Norming

In this stage, members are beginning to share a common commitment to the purpose of the group, including to its overall goals and how each of the goals can be achieved. The team leader should focus on continuing to clarify the roles of each member, and a clear and workable structure and process for the group to achieve its goals.

4. Performing

In this stage, the team is working effectively and efficiently toward achieving its goals. During this stage, the style of leadership becomes more indirect as members take on stronger participation and involvement in the group process. Ideally, the style includes helping members to reflect on their experiences and to learn from them.

5. Closing and Celebration

At this stage, it is clear to members and their organization that the team has achieved its goals (or a major milestone along the way toward the goal). It is critical to acknowledge this point in the life of the team, lest members feel unfulfilled and skeptical about future team efforts.

Some Types of Teams You Could Use

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD

There are many types of teams you could use in the workplace. The type you choose depends very much on the nature of the results that the team is to accomplish.

1. Formal and informal teams

These are usually small groups of employees who come together to address some specific goal or need. Management appoints formal teams, that is, teams that are intentionally organized and resourced to address a specific and important goal or need. Informal teams are usually loosely organized groups of people who come together to address a non-critical, short-term purpose.

2. Committees

Committees are organized to address, major ongoing functions or tasks in an organization, and the membership of the committees often is based on the official position of each of the members, for example, committees in Boards of Directors.

3. Problem-solving teams

These teams are formed to address a particular, major problem currently faced by the organization. Often, their overall goal is to provide a written report that includes recommendations for solving the problem. Membership often is comprised of people who perceive and/or experience the problem, as well as those who can do something about it.

4. Self-directed and self-managed teams

These types of teams are increasingly used where a) team members are working to address a complex challenge in a rapidly changing environment, and b) the strong ownership and participation of members are extremely important. These types provide great latitude in how members achieve the overall results to be achieved by the teams. The role of leader in a team might change during the team activities depending on where the team is in its stage of development (see below) and/or achieving is results.

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Posted on

How to Conduct Discussion Groups

A team discussing during a meeting

How to Conduct Discussion Groups

Sections of This Topic Include

Also consider
Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Discussion Groups

In addition to the articles on this current page, also see the following blogs that have posts related to Discussion Groups. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog. The blog also links to numerous free related resources.

Guidelines to Conduct Discussion Groups

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the topic Group Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and their typical stages of development. (It’s not clear at this time if online groups have similar nature and stages.)

Typical Purpose of a Discussion Group

The purpose of the discussion technique is to ensure interaction among group members to identify, clarify, analyze and/or select an item, for example, about:

  • Issues
  • Recommendations
  • Objectives
  • Responsibilities
  • Timelines

Process for a Discussion Group

The process of the discussion technique typically includes the following steps.

  1. Specify the discussion topic and the goal to the planning group (if possible, do this step as pre-work before the next meeting). The goal is usually to identify, clarify, analyze and/or select an item.
  2. It is often best if the topic is described in the form of a “yes/no” question or a choice from among alternatives, for example, “Should we approve ___?” or “Should we hire ____?”.
  3. Specify when the discussion is to start and stop.
  4. Allow for open, unassigned exchange of information, for example, questions, suggestions or general comments until it is time to stop the discussion. Give the group a 2-minute warning when time is almost up.
  5. Facilitate to focus the discussion around the topic.
  6. Attempt to capture key points on a flipchart.

Optional:

  • Attempt to summarize the discussion by identifying conclusions or decisions from the discussion.
  • The group can make selections from the results using voting (ranking or rating) and/or consensus techniques.

Important Skills for Facilitation of Discussion Groups

The quality of the discussion group can be enhanced significantly if guided by a skilled facilitator.
All About Facilitation

Also, sound skills in meeting management ensure a clear and consistent purpose and framework in which to work toward that purpose.
Guidelines to Conducting Effective Meetings

Various Perspectives on Discussion Groups

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.


Posted on

Dialoguing

People-showing-speech-bubble-symbols

Dialoguing

Note that the reader might best be served to first read the
topic Group
Dynamics to understand the basic nature of most groups and
their typical stages of development. (It’s not clear at this time
if online groups have similar nature and stages.)

Various Perspectives on Dialoguing

Facilitation
Library
Introduction to Dialogue
Bohm
dialogue
The Magic of Dialogue
On Dialogue, Culture, and
Organizational Learning

Also consider
The following are group-based methods.
Action Learning
Board
Committees
Committees
Communities of Practice
Conflict
Management
Dialoguing
Facilitation
Focus
Groups
Group Coaching
Group Conflict Management
Group
Dynamics (about nature of groups, stages of group development,
etc)
Group
Learning
Group-Based
Problem Solving and Decision Making
Large-Scale
Interventions
Meeting
Management
Open
Space Technology
Self-Directed
and Self-Managed Work Teams
Team
Building
Training
and Development
Virtual
Teams

Related Library Topics

Related Library Topics

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Dialoguing

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which
have posts related to dialoguing. Scan down the blog’s page to see various posts.
Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar of the blog or click
on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s Leadership
Blog
Library’s Supervision
Blog
Library’s Team Performance
Blog

For the Category of Facilitation and Teams:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books


Posted on

Team Performance Management: Development (Improvement) Planning Phase

Group Presenting in Front of the Laptop

Team Performance Management: Development (Improvement) Planning Phase

© Copyright Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, LLC. Adapted
from the Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision in Business and
Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Nonprofit Staff.

Strongly Suggested Pre-Reading

Team Performance
Management: Performance Appraisal Phase

Approaches to Team Development Planning

As in our descriptions of the performance planning and performance appraisal
phases, we will continue with our example of the IT Department. So at this point
in our example, a performance plan and the performance appraisal activities
have already been conducted by the supervisor of the team.

13. If performance does not meet desired performance standards, then develop
or update a performance development plan to address the performance gap*
(See Note 1 below.) This plan clearly conveys how the conclusion was made that
there was inadequate performance, what actions are to be taken, by whom and
when. In our example, if the IT Department was not performing to desired standards,
then some forms of help (or interventions) would be provided, for example, coaching,
mentoring, training or more resources.

  • In a progressive
    approach,     performance development can occur in real time, that is, the
    supervisor and team members would address performance issues as soon as they
    occur. The supervisor and team members would collaborate to decide what improvements
    are needed and how they might be implemented. Their decisions would be about
    any additional help that might be needed, and also the learnings so far and
    how they could advance the members’ careers.

* Note 1: Inadequate performance does not always indicate a problem on the
part of the team. For example, the performance standards may be unrealistic
or the team may have insufficient resources.

14. Repeat steps 9 to 13 until performance is acceptable, standards are
changed, the team is replaced or management decides to do nothing.

Now, near the end of the three phases, is a very good time to evaluate your
overall team management process to see what you are learning and what changes
that you want to make in order to improve the process.

Group and Team
Learning
Guidelines
for Implementation and Evaluation

Learn More in the Library’s Blogs Related to Performance Management

In addition to the articles on this current page, see the following blogs which
have posts related to Performance Management. Scan down the blog’s page to see
various posts. Also see the section “Recent Blog Posts” in the sidebar
of the blog or click on “next” near the bottom of a post in the blog.

Library’s
Human Resources Blog
Library’s
Leadership Blog
Library’s
Supervision Blog

Also consider
Related Library Topics
Employee
Performance Management
Group Performance
Management
Organizational
Performance Management

For the Category of Performance Management:

To round out your knowledge of this Library topic, you may want to review some
related topics, available from the link below. Each of the related topics includes
free, online resources.

Also, scan the Recommended Books listed below. They have been selected for their
relevance and highly practical nature.

Related Library Topics

Recommended Books